Historical Focus on Race

Earl Graves

Entrepreneur, publisher, businessman, and philanthropist; founder of Black Enterprise magazine; inducted into U.S. Business Hall of Fame.

Date of Interview:

Wednesday, October 10, 2001

Charlottesville, VA – University of Virginia

Highly respected and nationally known as an authority on black business development and entrepreneurship, Earl G. Graves has risen to prominence in the business world.

As president and CEO of Earl G. Graves Ltd., Graves operates a related Web site, stages events, and produces radio reports. Additionally, Graves is the founder and publisher of the nationally distributed magazine Black Enterprise, which focuses on issues and news relating to black-owned businesses in the United States.

A key communicator and spokesman, Graves was once described by Rev. Jesse Jackson in the Washington Post as the "primary educator in the country on black business -- on trends and opportunities." In 2004, Fortune magazine listed Graves among their Top 25 Most Powerful Black Executives, citing Graves' time on the boards of directors of major corporations including the Chrysler Corporation, the Boy Scouts of America, Howard University, and AMR, the parent company of American Airlines.

Graves chairs the Black Business Council and has always been vocal on the subject of racial discrimination in business. He earned his B.A. in economics from Morgan State College and served in the United States Army from 1958 to 1960. Graves is the author of How to Succeed in Business Without Being White.

In recent years, the school of business and management at Morgan State University has been named for Graves as a tribute to his support of education and equal opportunity. In 2007, Graves was inducted into the US Business Hall of Fame to honor his success. Currently, he serves as a director of Aetna, Inc.